AC/DC Drummer Phil Rudd Changes Plea in Court

theguardian.com

Former AC/DC drummer Phil Rudd plead guilty to threatening to kill, and possession of cannabis and methamphetamine in court yesterday morning. Rudd initially plead not guilty to those charges back in December, for which he is being charged with threatening to kill a man who worked for him in New Zealand. The drummer now faces seven years in jail for the threatening to kill charge. Rudd and his attorney Craig Tuck are scheduled to be back in the New Zealand court on June 26th. It has been reported that Rudd was under the influence of drugs when he called and threatened to kill his former employee. The drummer was also charged with murder-for-hire, but that charge was dropped citing lack of evidence.

Chris Slade has replaced Rudd as AC/DC’s drummer. Slade was a member of the band from 1989 through 1994 when Rudd was first dismissed from the band. Rudd returned to the band, but his recent legal troubles cost him his position in AC/DC this time around. Slade reunited with AC/DC in February for a performance at this year’s Grammy Awards. The band recently performed at both weekends at the Coachella music festival. Last year, the band released their Rock or Bust album. The project features the singles “Play Ball,” “Rock or Bust,” and “Rock the Blues Away“. Rock or Bust has sold over two million copies worldwide, and it was certified Gold in the US. The “Rock or Bust” single reached Number 12 on the Mainstream Rock chart, Number 29 on the Hot Rock Songs chart, and Number 31 on the Rock Airplay chart.

AC/DC’s Rock or Bust World Tour will launch in Arnhem (Netherlands) on a May 5th.

The band will also travel to Germany, Poland, Austria, France, Spain, Switzerland, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, Denmark, and Finland before they head back to the US this summer. AC/DC will began their North America leg in Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium on August 22nd, and they will perform in several cities in the US and Canada. The band will make stops in Rutherford (NJ), Quebec City (ON), Montreal (QC), Ottawa (ON), Detroit (MI), Toronto (ON), Chicago (IL), Edmonton (AL), Vancouver (BC), and San Francisco (CA). AC/DC will wrap their Rock or Bust tour in Los Angeles, California on September 28th.

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Brillion Williams is an avid entertainment writer, particularly in the realm of music, sports, television, and film. Williams first started writing professionally as the founder and editor of Brillion-A-Million.